"feminism" Tag

Strong feelings, dragging both ways. It hurts. No, I like this one. But it’s orange.

Since I moved to Holland I think orange is the colour of annoyance. It represents drunk and ignorant people with no sense for fashion, running around in the streets, pissing in my staircase and littering the veins of Amsterdam.

But also, the colour of my hair. Gingerlicious. Makes me wonder, is it so, that also I am one of those?

Well I guess a little bit yes and a little bit no. As in all deep cases in life, it’s easy to get lost in this grey area of orange. To be or not to be – a deuce.

No, I like it. Because it doesn’t say anything about what the author has between his or her legs, even though it’s tagged with feminism. I like it because it represents a feministic artist and not a gender. A genderless-looking book full of questions about gender. Orange, square and just a book. Perfect to sneak in to any chauvinist nearby. And then the chauvinist finds it and picks it up and is like yeah cool orange book gonna look in it. And then is all oh yeah cool book no way cool stuff oh my god and comes out from the situation a bit less chauvinistic and a bit more enlightened. Never thought about that when you picked up an orange, easy book huh? Nice one.

Yes, I like it because it’s orange. And sneaky. And smart. Like a fox. Fox-book.

It’s a screaming gorilla. And it could be me.
Many times when the subject is discussed I really do feel like I’m another type of animal than the others around me. We speak different languages although it all sounds like English. I’m made fun of, I’m put in a gorilla suit.
The gorilla girl.
When I first came to Rietveld and discovered the lack of knowledge and interest I was stunned. The situation baffled me for a second before I realized how freaking much work there is to be done here.
The sleeves of my gorilla suit are rolled up and I’m ready to go to work. I’m a hardheaded one. Because I do it for You. I do it for Your grandma, Your sister, Your dad and the entire payroll of society.
And of course, for myself. The fucking gorilla suit is making me sweat. And sometimes I must admit that it brings out sides in me that are not the most flattering. Chest pounding is very powerful and expressive, but not always convincing. And to make people scared of the gorilla won’t help my cause.
Feminism. It’s a field of Science. Not my personal gorilla opinions. First lesson taught, right there.

I had to swallow a bit of vomit in my mouth when I saw the cover with the title “Girl culture”. Raw quiche for breakfast was a good choice. And then the stupid pictures of: girls hogging a mirror to smack make-up in their faces. A little (girl)child in a fluffy room with bubbles and pink fluff and beauty queens.
How fucking stupid is that? Puke factor is high.
Girls do other shit than that, I thought. And then I felt a little bit better when I discovered a tiny picture of three girls in a locker room dressed in football gear.
Better, but not well enough. Because I flip the cover to get to the List of Entries. Scrolling down for my favorite two topics. As the girl I am surely they should be listed here, yes?
Baby phat
Backstreet Boys

Breast enhancement
Covering over
Dirty Dancing
Easy-Bake Oven
Fairy Tales
Fat Girl
Felicity
Filmmaking
Feminism? Nope.
And then I puke all over it. Damn it. All that raw quiche, took me a lot of time and love to make, wasted.

I scroll down.
Gilmore Girls
Hello Kitty
Innocence
JAP (Jewish American Princess)
Ken
Little women
Lopez, Jennifer
Madonna
Magazines
Moral panic
My little pony
Masturbation? Nada. “We rather put Moral panic in there”. Truly saddening. The way we’re obstructed, sub consciously, by images and mould by the power of words. Girl culture. With no equality nor sexuality. Ignorant and poor point of view.
Beware of shit like this coming your way. Because this was, as the title said, only VOLUME 2, there’s probably a VOLUME 1 out there too.

Thinking of women artists and graphic design leads me to the work of Barbara Kruger. It connects design, feminism, art and references also to my personal story, namely of seeing an exhibition of her work and loving it.

The work of Barbara Kruger can be qualified both as conceptual art and graphic design. She combines black and white photographs with phrases set in vivid colors, juxtaposing imagery and text. Her work addresses the complex interconnection of gender and the marketplace, and criticizes sexism and the circulation of powers within cultures.

I find her work interesting because it is interdisciplinary. She is not bothered by formal qualifications (is it design, is it art, is it politics?), but instead says that she likes to work with words and images. She wants to address her audience directly, and chooses the medium which she finds fitting. This ‘no fuss’ attitude in combination with the content of her work is inspiring.

‘Being reassured that whatever kind of art you make it will be labeled feminine.’

‘Being included in revised versions of art history.’ (Guerilla Girls)

After listening to a presentation on feminist art I contemplate these statements. I find them funny, but they also make me uncomfortable. What is a woman artist? Are there specific issues she should address?

Later, in the library, I know I have to find a book on design, but first I wander around to find a book that addresses the subject on my mind. Intuitively, I pick up a pink book with feminist essays on art. Later, I return to my initial task and pick up a book on color theory. That book, now lying in front of me on the table, doesn’t speak to me at all. If this is a subjective library, I should just read about feminism instead.

Searching without an objective search criterion in a library seems to contradict the way a library is organized. However, after deciding that it is exactly this intellectual approach that I need to abandon, I decide to approach the books basing my choice on feelings and preferences alone.

1. I like graphic art

2. I like vivid colors

I notice a book that is a faded neon pink. I recognize it, because I have it at home, twice. Living with my boyfriend has caused some books to be connected with a twin, and our copies of ‘Een teken aan de wand’ are standing next to each other on the shelf, looking beautiful.

Should I choose this book? Isn’t it too obvious, seeing that I know it, have read it, used it in projects and above all, that it concerns some of my favorite topics: feminism and human rights? Yes I should, neon pink looks even better times three.